Howl-O-Scream

[Wooemwoemeht]

Now see this is where im more comfortable! I have done ones like this for years lol. Its the ones with the more rules or places that have to be "safe" that i feel are more tamed down. There are so many ways to do a haunt that as long as people are safe and its at least mediocre ppl will come. I am just used to the ones that are strickly only a "Haunted attraction." Where even parking in the parking lot is enough to get you messed with by some roaming monsters lol .

I've only worked a corporate haunt with rules out the galore and tons of critiquing/complaining to the point of vomiting. The backwoods haunt is where its at where the parking lot is a corn field. To really get your mind into it, just imagine that what if a serial killer just strolled into the woods(haunt) and starting offing off stragglers as they walked through.....On another note, I am excited about 3 new mazes at HoS this year. Glad to see Root of Evil head out but my daughter was mad to see 13 go. Any clue of where the new mazes will be located?????

 

[Peej1212]

At any rate, I'd rather see the park move in the direction of being more adult, meaning more scares and more "adult" party stuff (alcohol/sexiness) than try to balance either one of those aspects with family-friendly stuff. To me, out of the three "themes" (scary, party, family friendly) those two pair together much more naturally.

I agree with you, I dont mind family friendly halloween events, i actually will be taking my little girl to the pumpkin patch this year for the 1st time, i think for a family things like that are neccesary. But an event like HOS i believe shouldnt be for children, and if your child is good with it(meaning can tolerate scares and not break down crying) bring them along. But i dont want to see a whole nursery school walking or being pushed through vampire point. Because i feel in many ways its not fair, to the families that have to deal with scared and upset children or the people who want more scare. But I am one of those ppl that if are selling that you can scare me, I want you to damnit. lol. And i dont want to feel bad about it.lol. I heard a mother chewing a staff member out because her child got scared, someone else in the crowd told her that she knew what was happening after dark. I dont mind a party vibe either but again if it came to party or scare id pick that scare again. But unfortunatly this is going to be the forever debate that i dont think anyone will ever be completely happy with.

 

[Sky]

Ok i get that it gets an overlay. But then you have alot of people who feel the park doesnt do enough for the HOS side of things. And there are warnings that are presented about what the park becomes after dark.I dont know if making this a separately ticketed idea would work but, I would IMO leave my daughter at home until she was old enough to understand the scarier side of this event. Alot of what i personally think is that the more they numb down this event because of people being scared i think it loses the "flavor" lol. I think we all agree that we want good quality from an event like this, but i think its in hearing the opinions of each other that we get to see the kind of compromises neccesary to appeal to both sides.

My apologies for my poor word choice. I would love for the event to become more of a haunt, I just don't get the incessant bitching about bars and alcoholic offerings. I do believe the park can become a more immersive space - terrortories were a huge step, however I do not buy into the idea that three very well-themed bars ruin the ambiance of the entire event.

Jack Hanna's Reserve is still an extremely foreboding area.

Scotland is still filled with eerie sights.

New France will always be a well themed logging environment that easily lends itself to scares.

Aquitaine's density will always be used in some way - I feel that several of you have overlooked the fact that, yes there is a party atmosphere, BUT the hamlet's density and enclosure created by the rowhousing also increases the feeling of chaos.

England and its very insular environment will always play host to a great historic scare.

Ireland and Oktoberfest are, by their very nature, celebratory environments, so their HOS overlays will reflect that.



Bars do not ruin the event. To say they do sells the event extremely short.

 

[Peej1212]

Jack Hanna's Reserve is still an extremely foreboding area.

Scotland is still filled with eerie sights.

New France will always be a well themed logging environment that easily lends itself to scares.

Very true these are some of my favorite area HOS time and not your words werent poorly chosen. I know sometimes at least for me its harder to type it out logically. It never sounds as good as it did in my head lol :cthulhu:

 

[Wings]

My apologies for my poor word choice. I would love for the event to become more of a haunt, I just don't get the incessant bitching about bars and alcoholic offerings. I do believe the park can become a more immersive space - terrortories were a huge step, however I do not buy into the idea that three very well-themed bars ruin the ambiance of the entire event.

Jack Hanna's Reserve is still an extremely foreboding area.

Scotland is still filled with eerie sights.

New France will always be a well themed logging environment that easily lends itself to scares.

Aquitaine's density will always be used in some way - I feel that several of you have overlooked the fact that, yes there is a party atmosphere, BUT the hamlet's density and enclosure created by the rowhousing also increases the feeling of chaos.

England and its very insular environment will always play host to a great historic scare.

Ireland and Oktoberfest are, by their very nature, celebratory environments, so their HOS overlays will reflect that.



Bars do not ruin the event. To say they do sells the event extremely short.

I 100% agree with your statement. I also agree with TheMostHappy - I am content with the fact there are equal parts of haunt and halloween party at Howl-O-Scream.

I don't think having a balance of both stops the event from being more immersive - I think there just needs to be a continued effort year after year in making the terrortories more expansive.

 

[Jacques]

Guess whose back!!!


I see some people draw back in fear as others go "Who is this guy?"


Been terribly busy with school and work, but after all the announcements of the new mazes I had to come back and give my two cents!


1) Scarlett's Revenge : This maze looks like it will either be the best the park has ever seen or another failed attempt at making a character maze. The concept and backstory is awesome, but knowing Busch... We'll see. What suprised me was the big names attatched to it. From what I've read and heard, this will be where 13 was, and that's a good thing too.

2.) Lumberhack: Doesn't the name remind you of HoS glory days? This just smells of nostalgic simple theming that I loved at Busch. No stupid hard to get back story, just some good old fashioned murderous this or that! Not to mention how cheap the costuming and props will be! Flannel? check. Jeans? check. Old wooden structures? check. Saws and axes? check. simple and sweet. With the woods theming, it's most likely to be out where the new maze is being built, although it would be VERY cool to see them open the pathway back behind smokehouse that employees walk. This path leads straight back to the RoaE area and is surrounded by trees and eerie looking things. Only problem is that they would cross the R&R twice which is a safety hazard, so probably not likely.New France already has the theming for a woodsman theme, even if it is rather hidden by WW.

3.) Cornered: Ah yes, the puns! Once again, that sweet and simple theming. While it's most likely to be where RoaE was, I think it would be hard to sell a farm/cornfield themed maze in a parking lot. I would prefer this to be back in the new maze area just so it is in a more grassy and secluded part of the park. Whats scarier than being secluded and around murderous woodsmen? Creepy killer farmers that are possibly cannibalistic!!!


4) Cutthroat Cove: it's no secret that I have a soft spot for this maze first and only maze I ever worked in with Busch, and the only I ever will. That being said, they better get a huge amount of love for this if they want it to be standing by the end of this year. The first year saw a lot of wear and tear alone. The second year, even more. They did little refurb last year, it seemed more like they just slapped new paint and props(which they proceeded to take down most.)Either give it love or retire it.

5) No More Scott: With Scott gone, and Carl in charge(from what I heard he is the temporary Entertainment guy correct me if I'm wrong), I think we can expect a new direction for Busch, or at least a less sparkly one. I, for once, am SUPER excited for HoS that I havent been for quite some time.

6)Future Updates: Keep an eye out for my future review/ comparison between HoS,HH, and HHN. My KD pass is ready, my busch pass is around my neck, and my Universal tickets and hotel reservations are made.


LET THE SCARES BEGIN!

 

[K9copinmd]

I'm looking forward to the three new houses. I must say though that I'm curious to see what the political cry babies choose whine about this year.

 

[Jacques]

^God knows they'll find something... But will busch cave in so easily this time?

 

[Zachary]

I find it fascinating that a few years ago Nicole had a liberal opinion about HOS in comparison to the larger community and now the community's standards and expectations have been eroded so much to where her opinion represents the conservative side of the debate.

I really am amazed by how the community has shifted so much... And I think it's very telling of the quality of the Haunt event BGW has been putting on for the last handful of years.

/me points to his signature

 

[netdvn]

Good news everyone! Word on da street tells me that the park wants to cut back on Sesame hours so it'll close around 6-ish like Drsgons during HOS. This means less kiddies roaming the park.

 

[Mushroom]

* Zachary points to his signature

Daaammmmmnnn

 

[CastleOSullivan]

Good news everyone! Word on da street tells me that the park wants to cut back on Sesame hours so it'll close around 6-ish like Drsgons during HOS. This means less kiddies roaming the park.

That would be awesome! That was Tampa's first course of action when they decided to go full throttle on the scare factor. Williamsburg started one year ahead of Tampa, and started too fast, too soon with the scare level. Williamsburg decided to give in to complaints, whereas Tampa gradually made it more scary to ease complaints. For both parks, finding a "balance" is tough. For Williamsburg, however, going back to scary is like turning a large ship going at high speed.

 

[Sky]

I find it fascinating that a few years ago Nicole had a liberal opinion about HOS in comparison to the larger community and now the community's standards and expectations have been eroded so much to where her opinion represents the conservative side of the debate.

I really am amazed by how the community has shifted so much... And I think it's very telling of the quality of the Haunt event BGW has been putting on for the last handful of years.

* Zachary points to his signature

I don't think any of our opinions represent an eroded view of the event, but I truly do appreciate the sentiment.

People change. They see a broader picture.

 

[Nicole]

I really have no idea how I could see a "broader picture." And frankly I find the implication a bit insulting.

We disagree. That doesn't mean anyone's opinion has any more merit than anyone else's.

But since it has been clear throughout that people aren't actually reading my posts in their entirety, or perhaps I am merely not expressing myself clearly enough, I can see no value in continuing this debate.

 

[Peej1212]

We disagree.  That doesn't mean anyone's opinion has any more merit than anyone else's.

I completely agree with you. I think this is what makes places like this work. Its interesting to hear one anothers opinion, and know that while you may not agree it is another persons opinion and it is jut as valid as our own.

But since it has been clear throughout that people aren't actually reading my posts in their entirety, or perhaps I am merely not expressing myself clearly enough, I can see no value in continuing this debate.

I can only speak for myself but Im sorry that you feel this way. Its sucky when you try to explain how you feel and people may not get it. I try to follow the posts as best I can. And its possible im not really getting what was intended by reading it.

 

[Sky]

I really have no idea how I could see a "broader picture."  And frankly I find the implication a bit insulting.

We disagree.  That doesn't mean anyone's opinion has any more merit than anyone else's.

But since it has been clear throughout that people aren't actually reading my posts in their entirety, or perhaps I am merely not expressing myself clearly enough, I can see no value in continuing this debate.

You're insulted by me being insulted? Jesus Christ, the fora versus forum debate concerning elitism was just the tip of the iceberg.

I'll shut up now because I'm sure each of the admins is currently watching a very old member come close to pulling a David because he's so tired of being fed up.

Any updates on Lumberhack's progress?

 

[wombat96]

I'll be at the park this morning for a quick visit looking for HOS construction.

 

[Peej1212]

Good news everyone! Word on da street tells me that the park wants to cut back on Sesame hours so it'll close around 6-ish like Drsgons during HOS. This means less kiddies roaming the park.

This would be great! It kinda made me feel bad that there were little ones afraid of all the stuff, it hurts me to see little kids crying :'( But then it would make me mad that their parents were so stupid to see that it was affecting their kids negatively and not care enough to leave. But i think less little ones would be great!

 

[angelicurrr]

Who's going opening weekend? We're totally cramming a Pumpkin themed baby shower and HOS on Sept. 26th! And taking full advantage of the Bring a Friend Free ticket which I got earlier this week. I know opening weekend is famous for low crowds and a low performance from the actors, but I love going then because I can really examine everything while it's fresh. I also like seeing how things change throughout the season.

 

[Peej1212]

We are not going until later this season. But i have gone in the beginning so i am excited to see what will be different between early and later . AWWW pumpkin themed baby shower!!! So cute!!!